Private Management Group Inc. Sells 184,774 Shares of Ambev S.A. $ABEV

Private Management Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ambev S.A. (NYSE:ABEV) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 15,112,841 shares of the company’s stock after selling 184,774 shares during the quarter. Ambev makes up 1.1% of Private Management Group Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Private Management Group Inc.’s holdings in Ambev were worth $37,329,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Monument Capital Management bought a new stake in Ambev in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Trust Advisors LP bought a new stake in Ambev in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in Ambev in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Modern Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Ambev in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Finally, Royal Palms Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ambev in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 8.13% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ambev from $2.65 to $2.90 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ambev from $3.00 to $3.50 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Ambev from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Ambev from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average price target of $3.09.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ambev

In related news, insider Paulo Andre Zagman sold 136,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $3.41, for a total transaction of $464,612.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 230,535 shares in the company, valued at $786,124.35. This represents a 37.15% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider De Lacerda Eduardo Cavalcanti sold 152,386 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.85, for a total transaction of $434,300.10. Following the transaction, the insider owned 223,340 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $636,519. The trade was a 40.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information.

Ambev Price Performance

Shares of Ambev stock opened at $3.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $3.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $2.88. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Ambev S.A. has a 1-year low of $2.10 and a 1-year high of $3.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.97, a PEG ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.64.

Ambev (NYSE:ABEV) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.05. Ambev had a net margin of 17.69% and a return on equity of 16.63%. The business had revenue of $4.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.38 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ambev S.A. will post 0.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Ambev Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 11th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 24th will be paid a $0.0092 dividend. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 24th. Ambev’s payout ratio is presently 57.89%.

About Ambev

Ambev (NYSE: ABEV) is a Brazilian-based beverage company that produces, distributes and markets a broad portfolio of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. The company’s core business centers on brewing and selling beer, alongside a range of soft drinks, bottled water, energy drinks and other malt-based beverages. Headquartered in São Paulo, Ambev operates an integrated value chain that covers manufacturing, packaging, logistics and commercial sales to retail, on-premise and institutional customers.

The company traces its origins to the 1999 merger of two historic Brazilian breweries, and later became part of the broader global brewing group through subsequent industry consolidations.